Firstly, don’t Panic.
It doesn’t take a call to your local Cardiff locksmith to tell you that a jammed lock on your way home after a long day can be a huge inconvenience, and it can put a damper on your mood.
But a jammed lock when you’re on your way out to work, an appointment, or any other time sensitive engagement can have much more significant consequences. If you find yourself in a bind with a pesky lock jam you may be surprised to learn that as long as you have the right knowledge and equipment, you may actually be able to repair it yourself without the help of your emergency locksmith Cardiff.
Of course, this jam is going to be stressful. As most things are, when they put a wrench in your plans, force you to improvise, and take some of your valuable time to deal with a situation you were not expecting. But the most important thing for you to remember is to not panic. Whether you are able to fix the lock yourself, or you do find yourself making an emergency call to your local Cardiff locksmith, you will get through it. You are here to find out what to do in the case of a jammed lock, so let’s start with what causes them to jam in the first place.
What causes a lock to jam?
A lock, like any other piece of important hardware, is made up of materials that may be strong, but are not invincible. A lock can be damaged or jammed due to a number of reasons. The first step is figuring out what has caused yours. A lock may be jammed due to a piece of a key broken off inside of it, inclement weather, a build up of dirt/dust, or there may simply be faulty hardware. To find out whether a call to your emergency locksmith Cardiff is necessary, you first need to diagnose the jam. Once you know the cause of the jam it will be much easier to proceed with the steps required to get your lock fixed and get your busy day back on track. Let’s take a look at the steps you will need to take in order to find a solution to your lock problem.
Step 1: Make Sure You’ve Got the Right Key.
Making sure you have the right key might sound like a no-brainer to you, but it is actually more common than you think for people to mistake a jammed or broken lock with a key that is simply misshapen or stiff due to something as simple as freezing temperatures. Sometimes rather than contacting your Cardiff locksmith, all it takes is a little heat to fix the issue.
Step 2: Loosen up The Key.
If your lock is stiff and just needs to be loosened up in order to get your key turning again, you may want to pick up some silicone lubricant to put into it and try to work the key back into the lock. You may also consider trying graphite in the lock in order to lubricate it. You can find graphite either as a dry lubricant or it may be in a lubricant oil.
Step 3: Align the Deadbolt Properly.
You may need to contact your Cardiff locksmith if you are not sure. If the deadbolt is not in the correct position it will not be able to turn all the way as the latch will not be able to lock into the strike. If you find that it is misaligned, you may be able to easily fix this by removing the strike from the jamb with a screwdriver and replacing it in the correct position yourself.
Step 4: Call an Emergency Locksmith in Cardiff.
When all else fails, it may be time to remove the plate entirely and retighten the screws. If you do this and put the plate back on and find that the lock still is not working, it is unfortunately likely that you will need to buy a new lock. You can do this at any hardware store and either install it yourself, or have your local Cardiff locksmith install it and ensure that the job is done correctly in hopes of avoiding this situation in the future.